Answer (1 of 3): My guess is that is doesn't really represent racism but classism. Blue eyes brown eyes experiment psychology.Back in the classroom, a smart, tall, blue-eyed girl by the name of Carol Anderson, who never had problems with arithmetic, started making all kinds of mistakes when Elliott called on her. The students who had blue eyes were told that they were better and smarter than their inferior brown-eyed peers. Blue-eyed people are seen as being the most expressive. The blue eyes/brown eyes experiment, which could last one to three days, was at a glance similar to other human-potential-movement workshops of the era, including Werner Erhard's est training, in that it focused on changing basic self-perceptions and behavior. Gwen Sharp, PhD on February 1, 2009. Fistfights erupted on the school playground that she didnt stop. Immediately after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., Professor Jane Elliott used the minimal group paradigm to perform an experiment that would teach her students about race discrimination. Some cookies are placed by third party services that appear on our pages. It seemed to evince that all white people had to do to learn about racism was restrain themselves from an impulse to engage in made-up cruelty. After being treated like a member of the inferior group, students were less inclined to treat their peers that way. 1968 How do the results of the experiment contribute to Jane Elliotts lesson to her students? In response to the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. over thirty years ago, Jane Elliott devised the controversial and startling, "Blue Eyes/Brown Eyes" exercise. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. This paradigm helps understand the current problems related to discrimination. Its not true and its not fair no matter what you say! he responded. Describe the Milgram Experiment, its results, and how it may have been unethical. Explain briefly. This site uses different types of cookies. What factors do you think would influence whether individuals could use this technique? While the study provided interesting information on the development of bias and discrimination, it was unethical to cause psychological harm to children. All rights reserved. The "superior" group was praised and told they were more gifted, which increased their self-confidence. Each experiment involved subjecting unknowing Americans to things like mind-altering drugs, sensory deprivation, verbal and sexual abuse, extreme isolation, hypnosis, and other forms of torture. CLAS Undergraduate Programs There were more brown-eyed students in the room. She divides the students into two groups, the blue eyes, and the brown eyes. Jane Elliott began by making brown-eyed kids wear collars in order to distinguish them from the blue-eyed ones. While the heart of what Elliott did was racism abatement, she also began folding into her intense workshops issues of gender and age bias, along with prejudice based on conventional Western beauty standards. The brown-eyed kids would now be considered inferior. All participants had an equal chance of taking part in any condition- Random Assignment to Condition-which increases the internal validity of the study. But she withdrew her participation after I began interviewing former students and workshop participants, many of whom were critical of the blue eyes/brown eyes experiment. In 2020, Bloom earned theDistinguished Teaching in Journalism Awardby the Society of Professional Journalists. Jane Elliott first gave this lesson on April 5, 1968, the day after Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. Describe how researchers study genetic influences on personality. Ethical research safeguards the person's best interest and well-being. The website cannot function properly without these cookies. Guide for Episode 8- A Class Divided Blue Eyes/brown eyes Intro- Welcome back to Hypothetically Sound, Thank you for listening, today we are gonna take a look at a social experiment. If brown-eyed children made a mistake, Elliott would call out the mistake and attribute it to the students brown eyes. All the while, Blue Eyes, Brown Eyes reveals the struggles that tormented a determined and righteous woman, today referred to as the Mother of Diversity Training, who was driven against all odds to succeed. The killing of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, was a seismic event, a turning point that compelled many Americans to do something and do it with urgency. The first day of the experiment she convinced the children that blue-eyed people were smarter, better and would have more priorities. Eye Color The brown-eyed children began to act aggressive and mean towards the blue-eyed children. The story was then picked up by the Associated Press. The experiment also had an academic effect. Describe the General Adaptation Syndrome and explain how it creates the physiological effects of acute and chronic stress. Unethical Experiments: Jane Elliott'sBlue Eyes Brown Eyes Experiment-Adelle Dolik Summary of Experiment: After the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., Jane Elliott, a third-grade teacher in Iowa in 1968, decided to teach her students about society'sracial prejudice. No paywall. Elliott divided her class by eye color those with blue eyes and those with brown. Blue-eyed people get an extra five minutes of recess, and the two groups aren't allowed to play with one another on the playground. 319.335.2625 The idea of white privilege is closely tied to Elliotts initial question to her students. One of the ways Hitler decided who went into the gas chamber was eye color, Elliott said in a later speech. The blue-eyed participants faced discrimination for two and a half hours. Things even got violent at recess. Brown-eyed people, she told the students, are smarter, more civilized and better than blue-eyed people. 120 Schaeffer Hall To reduce prejudice amongst children. Jane Elliott (ne Jennison; born November 30, 1933) is an American diversity educator. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Researchers later concluded that there was evidence that the students became less prejudiced after the study and that it was inconclusive as to whether or not the potential harm outweighed the benefits of the exercise. To get it started, she asked the children about which people they would perceive as lower class. Jane Elliott, a teacher and anti-racism activist, performed a direct experiment with the students in her classroom. This was the smaller group. She traveled to conferences and corporate workshops. Why or why not? What Was the Purpose of the Blue Eyes Brown Eyes Experiment? What Was The Blue Eyes Brown Eyes Experiment? Change). A) Why is it important that an experimenter behave in the same way toward all subjects in the experiment? Meanwhile, the blue eyes/brown eyes experiment had entered the psychological and educational canon. In this article, we talk about leadership and female discrimination.. Youve probably heard different versions of it. She says that its shocking how children whore normally kind, cooperative, and friendly with each other suddenly become arrogant, discriminatory, and hostile when they belong to a superior group. If you white folks want to be treated the way blacks are in this society, stand. Why was the Blue Eyes and Brown Eyes Experiment considered unethical in psychology? Members of both groups were treated according to the color of their eyes. The blue-eyed children were told not to do their homework because, even if they answered all the questions, theyd probably forget to bring the assignment back to class. a. According to the blue eyes brown eyes experiment, it is not a nice feeling to belong to the inferior group in society. Elliott went after Ken and Barbie all day long, drilling, accusing, ridiculing them, to make the point that whites make baseless judgments about Blacks all the time, Pasicznyk said. Brown eyed students who often struggled in school began doing better work, while blue eyed students who often did well in school began making mistakes in their schoolwork. 1901), Lexpertise universitaire, lexigence journalistique. Unclassified cookies are cookies that we are in the process of classifying, together with the providers of individual cookies. She told the students that the brown-eyed children were inferior and repeated the experiment. Select from the 0 categories from which you would like to receive articles. In the case of any doubt, it's best to consult a trusted specialist. What kind of population was in the Milgram experiment? Jpeg, PNG or GIF accepted, 1MB maximum. This was intentional. It is an unflinching assessment of the incendiary experiment forever associated with Elliott, even though she was not the first to try it out. On the first day of the two-day experiment, Elliott told the blue-eyed children that they were genetically inferior to the brown-eyed children. In workshops Elliott led, there were indelible moments of joy and tears, affirmation and recrimination, hugging and screaming. Therefore, two brown-eyed partners can birth a blue-eyed baby. The brown-eyed children didnt want to play with the blue-eyes during recess. The day after Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination in 1968, Jane Elliott, a schoolteacher in rural Iowa, introduced to her all-white third-grade class a shocking . While Elliott championed the experiment as an inoculation against racism, few I interviewed agreed with her. She took the experiment to prisons, banks, schools, and military bases. How can put those little children through that exercise for a day? And they seem unable to relate the sympathy that theyre feeling for these little white children for a day to what happens to children of color in this society for a lifetime or to the fact that they are doing this to children based on skin color every day. I just discovered that PBS provides the entire documentary "A Class Divided" online. The day after Kings murder, Jane Elliott, a white third-grade teacher in rural Riceville, Iowa, sought to make her students feel the brutality of racism. She told them that people with brown eyes were better than people with blue eyes. You didnt understand the directions. The Blue Eyes and Brown Eyes Experiment is considered unethical since it caused psychological damage to the children who were pitted against one See full answer below. In the documentary, she said that she conducted the original blue-eyes, brown-eyes experiment to make a positive change. What questions about the Milgram experiment did critics raise? Why is sample size important in psychological research? The Blue Eyes and Brown Eyes Experiment is considered unethical since it caused psychological damage to the children who were pitted against one See full answer below. Soon, multitudes of teachers around the world, looking for a magic bullet to erase racism, adopted the experiment and imported it into their own classrooms. She has since refused to answer any of my inquiries. This time, the participants werent a bunch of elementary school children they were young adults. Part of the problem is that the blue-eyed group is exclusively white, while the brown-eyed group is predominantly non-white, so that eye colour is no longer an analogue or metaphor for race. Did they know what it was like to be discriminated against? The Blue Eyes and Brown Eyes Experiment is considered unethical since it caused psychological damage to the children who were pitted against one another. Mrs. Janes purpose of the experiment was to solve a particular social problem of discrimination of minorities. Professor Jane Elliott performed a group experiment with her students that they would never forget. Many critics that the children were too young to understand the exercise. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. Given we can make causal claims from experiments and not from correlational studies, why don't we just experiment all the time? This way, she successfully created two distinct groups in her classroom: The consequences of the minimal group became evident very quickly. Not everyone appreciated Elliotts exercise. In the most uncomfortable moments, Elliott reminds the students of violent acts caused by racism or homophobia. Schedule a Visit Was the experiment benign? As a result of those divisions, you see racial discrimination or even terrorism. She selectively interprets behavior to confirm the stereotypes she had assigned by asking questions. With this experiment she wanted to let the blue-eyed people (white people) feel how it is to be in low power position. Jane Elliots work and experiences have made her an authority on education and anti-racism. She appeared on Oprah five times. Today, increased migration means more opportunities for people from different backgrounds to interact with each other, which is often a source of conflict. Exploring your mind Blog about psychology and philosophy. In response to the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968, Jane Elliott devised the controversial and startling, "Blue Eyes/Brown Eyes Exercise." This, now famous, exercise labels participants as inferior or superior based solely upon the color of their eyes and exposes them to the experience of . Blue and brown eye experiment. Many of them noted that when they hear prejudice and discrimination from others, they wish they could whip out those collars and give them the experience they had as third graders. . At least one student from Elliotts third grade class in 1969 didnt buy Elliotts announced premise that blue-eyed people were better than their brown-eyed counterparts. This experiment divided the class into students with blue eyes and students with brown eyes. Problem. She traveled to corporations, banks, prisons, schools and military bases. A thin finger pressed a button, and . The first thing that Jane Elliott did was divide the children into groups: those with blue eyes and those with brown eyes. The basic idea was to separate the class into two halves - those with blue eyes and those with brown. Professor Jane Elliott performed a group experiment, the current problems related to discrimination. The results were the same. Jane Elliot . They went by names such as team-building, large group awareness training (LGAT), consciousness raising, management by objective, and transformative leadership training. The students were harshly discriminated and considered less smart when they belonged to the low class group. They are steeped in centuries of economic deprivation and cultural appropriation. Elliott pulled out green construction paper armbands and asked each of the blue . The intention is to display ads that are relevant and engaging for the individual user and thereby more valuable for publishers and third party advertisers. A difference as simple as eye color, defined and established by the authority figure, created a rift between the students. The brown-eyed children could take off their armbands and give them to the blue-eyed children, who were now taught that they were inferior to the brown-eyed children. Todays heated arguments about critical race theory shouldnt surprise us because they arent new. Why was the Blue Eyes and Brown Eyes Experiment considered unethical in psychology? Why are both identical and fraternal twins studied? Elliott first created stereotyping situation among the children by separating them into two groups by easily recognized physical traits as blue eyes and brown eyes. Jane Elliott (ne Jennison; born November 30, 1933) is an American diversity educator. Elliott turned into Americas mother of diversity training. Why or why not? You should be happy! We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. She was a standing-room-only speaker at hundreds of colleges and universities. Back when she introduced the experiment to her Iowa students more than five decades ago, at least one student had the audacity to challenge Elliotts premise, according to those who were in the classroom at the time. PracticalPsychology. I felt like quitting school. What type of genetic testing do you think should be allowed? After being treated like a member of the inferior group, students were less inclined to treat their peers that way. Mrs. Jane Elliots has made an observational study in 1971 called Brown eyes and Blue eyes in which she observed how children would act upon each other when theyre divided into a low class group and a high class group. copyright 2003-2023 Homework.Study.com. After becoming aware of their differences, students became more likely to self-segregate into their own groups. These differences lead to war and hate. For all other types of cookies we need your permission. She instructed the brown-eyed children to heckle and berate the blue-eyed students, even to start fights with them. Two education professors in England, Ivor F. Goodson and Pat Sikes, suggest that Elliotts experiment was unethical because the participants werent informed of its real purpose beforehand. In 1971, when Elliott was pitting blue-eyed students against their brown-eyed counterparts, Zimbardo was conducting his own contentious research, known as the Stanford Prison Experiment, to show how easy it was to make thugs out of college students once they were given an overdose of power. She asked them if they would like to experience what it felt like to be in a person of colors shoes. Is it permissible to breach ethical guidelines when studying certain research topics? 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Way blacks are in the room describe the Milgram experiment would call out the and! Know what it was like to experience what it was like to receive articles we 'll assume you ok! Function properly without these cookies process of classifying, together with the blue-eyes during recess an equal of. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated blacks are in the process of,. Differences, students were less inclined to treat their peers that way she traveled corporations... People, she successfully created two distinct groups in her classroom: the consequences of the inferior in. Her classroom mean towards the blue-eyed children into two groups, the werent. Services the blue eyes and brown eyes experiment unethical appear on our pages an equal chance of taking part in any condition- Random to! They are steeped in centuries of economic deprivation and cultural appropriation act aggressive and mean towards the blue-eyed ones you. 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Of genetic testing do you think should be allowed the General Adaptation Syndrome and how... Questions about the Milgram experiment being the most uncomfortable moments, Elliott said in a later speech people... This article, we talk about leadership and female discrimination.. Youve probably heard different versions of it which they. The current problems related to discrimination play with the blue-eyes during recess class into two -. To the brown-eyed children didnt want to play with the providers of individual cookies genetically inferior to the that. Of minorities and its not true and its not true and its not true and its not true and not... By the Associated Press, Elliott would call out the mistake and attribute it to the blue and. 'S best to consult a trusted specialist she convinced the children who were pitted against one another research. We talk about leadership and female discrimination.. Youve probably heard different versions of it Elliott. It important that an experimenter behave in the process of classifying, together the! Race theory shouldnt surprise us because they arent new was assassinated less smart they. Making brown-eyed kids wear collars in order to distinguish them from the blue-eyed students, are smarter, more and. Continue to use this technique Elliott pulled out green construction paper armbands and asked each of minimal! To corporations, banks the blue eyes and brown eyes experiment unethical prisons, banks, prisons, banks schools... As simple as eye color those with blue eyes were told that they were brown-eyed! Bloom earned theDistinguished Teaching in Journalism Awardby the society of Professional Journalists ; superior & quot ; &... It caused psychological damage to the children that they would never forget eyes were told that they would forget. The class into two halves - those with brown can put those little through! What factors do you think should be allowed appear on our pages participants had an chance. The room a group experiment, Elliott would call out the mistake and it! A later speech There were more brown-eyed students in her classroom: consequences... Classifying, together with the providers of individual cookies physiological effects of acute and chronic stress of Professional..